I graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in English. I launched my post-college career in the editorial field, proofreading college texts and editing business directories.This did not fulfill my vision of sitting atop a slush pile of literary hopes and dreams, discovering one best selling author after another, so I went back to school to pivot to an Elementary Education degree.
Teaching both kindergarten and first grade taught me that at no time in life is our imagination as lit as it is when we are young, and I built lesson plans around tapping into the creative ideation kids naturally brought to school every single day. Poetry. Art. Music. We went wherever their whimsy took us. It was like being gifted mindful youth only this time I saw and appreciated the expanse of imagination. I taught until I had kids of my own, at which point I was lucky enough to stay home with them.
Around that time, we started a family business building a horse stable from the ground up with our home nestled between two barns. I was new to raising kids and new to horses, and have had the wildest experiences raising kids in such an environment. Chasing dreams I didn't even know I had.
Along the way, I stumbled upon St. Louis Mom, a local blog for mothers in the area to connect and find resources. It wasn't long before the writer in my heart nudged its way out, and I applied to be a content creator. Writing about raising kids and being a mom was the most natural transition that opened the door for me to tap even deeper into my soul. As the platform grew, I became the first Managing Editor, and I hold that role to this day. From sharing my own heart to collaborating with other moms, I have tapped into the very best parts of me. Mother, writer, editor, contributor. And from then, the inevitable happened. Writing became a full time gig and I've spent every day since making up for the lost time when I wasn't putting my words out there.
And the best gift of all? For way too many years, I learned how anxiety and insecurity could keep someone quiet. Years when I wasn't searching for my voice because I didn't know I had one worth listening to. But once I discovered how easy it was to be heard without even opening my mouth, I was hooked. I have a voice, I use my voice, and I am thankful every single day that I now know how to share my voice.
Teaching both kindergarten and first grade taught me that at no time in life is our imagination as lit as it is when we are young, and I built lesson plans around tapping into the creative ideation kids naturally brought to school every single day. Poetry. Art. Music. We went wherever their whimsy took us. It was like being gifted mindful youth only this time I saw and appreciated the expanse of imagination. I taught until I had kids of my own, at which point I was lucky enough to stay home with them.
Around that time, we started a family business building a horse stable from the ground up with our home nestled between two barns. I was new to raising kids and new to horses, and have had the wildest experiences raising kids in such an environment. Chasing dreams I didn't even know I had.
Along the way, I stumbled upon St. Louis Mom, a local blog for mothers in the area to connect and find resources. It wasn't long before the writer in my heart nudged its way out, and I applied to be a content creator. Writing about raising kids and being a mom was the most natural transition that opened the door for me to tap even deeper into my soul. As the platform grew, I became the first Managing Editor, and I hold that role to this day. From sharing my own heart to collaborating with other moms, I have tapped into the very best parts of me. Mother, writer, editor, contributor. And from then, the inevitable happened. Writing became a full time gig and I've spent every day since making up for the lost time when I wasn't putting my words out there.
And the best gift of all? For way too many years, I learned how anxiety and insecurity could keep someone quiet. Years when I wasn't searching for my voice because I didn't know I had one worth listening to. But once I discovered how easy it was to be heard without even opening my mouth, I was hooked. I have a voice, I use my voice, and I am thankful every single day that I now know how to share my voice.
